South Coast Repertory lines up Guirgis, Hwang for new season

The new 2012-13 season at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa is scheduled to feature recent comedies by Stephen Adly Guirgis and David Henry Hwang, as well as a world-premiere work by playwright Noah Haidle. The season is also to feature plays by Sarah Ruhl, Bill Cain and Samuel D. Hunter.

The season is the first to be selected by Marc Masterson, who took over as the company's artistic director in 2011.

Guirgis' "The Mother... with the Hat" (Jan. 6 to 27) is tol make its local debut in a production directed by Michael John Garcés. The comedy, which ran on Broadway last season at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, tells the story of a New York man recently released from prison who must contend with his demanding girlfriend and his Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor.

"Chinglish" (Jan. 25 to Feb. 24) is also set to make its regional debut. Hwang's comedy opened on Broadway late last year at the Longacre Theatre following a run at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. The comedy follows an American businessman who embarks on a trip to China, where he encounters numerous language problems.

Leigh Silverman, who directed the Broadway production, is to return as director for the South Coast Rep production, which is a collaboration with Berkeley Rep.

Haidle's new play "Smokefall" (March 29 to April 28) is to have its world premiere in a co-production with the Goodman. The time-hopping drama follows an unusual family through its emotional highs and lows.

South Coast Rep said the season is scheduled to feature another world premiere, but the title would be announced at a later date.

The season is to start with a revival Alan Ayckbourn's "Absurd Person Singular" (Sept. 7 to Oct. 7), followed by Ruhl's "Eurydice" (Sept. 23 to Oct. 14) and Cain's "How to Write a New Book for the Bible" (Oct. 19 to Nov. 18).

Rounding out the season are Hunter's "The Whale" (March 10 to 31), a comedy about a morbidly obese man, and "The Verona Project" (May 10 to Jun. 9, 2013), a music-filled production inspired by Shakespeare's "The Two Gentleman of Verona."

A holiday production of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" is set to run Nov. 24 to Dec. 24.